Director Zhang also said, "Someone once said, 'If hauling manure could make money, then the poor wouldn't even be qualified to haul manure.'"
"Apply that to our football scene: it's precisely because playing football can make money that the poor don't even have the chance to play."
Yao Ming understood, too. He said to Wang Yi:
"You mean cutting players' salaries so the powerful can't monopolize the chance to play, and truly talented kids from poor families can get on the field?"
Wang Yi nodded.
"Exactly. Why is our women's national team stronger than the men's—and by a lot? Because women's football doesn't make money."
"So this is a last resort."
Hearing that, Yang Yi sighed again. "We've tried cutting salaries before, but the powerful resisted, and many players voiced their dissatisfaction. In the end, the effort came to nothing."
Wang Yi said, "That's because we weren't determined enough to reform. The cuts were still too small."
"If professional players could only earn 20,000 yuan a month—or even 10,000—then the powerful would never make their children work themselves to the bone for such a small salary."
"But for most ordinary families, 20,000 yuan a month is already an excellent salary. Plenty of ordinary people would want to play, and eventually we could pick out the ones with real talent."
Yao Ming had once been the chairman of the Basketball Association, so he knew how deep the waters ran. He shook his head with a wry smile.
"You have a point, but you don't know how difficult it would be to cut salaries. There'd be obstacle after obstacle."
Director Zhang added, "Unless someone in the higher leadership genuinely wants to contribute to Chinese football and truly wants reform, someone willing to issue a firm order."
"But then that leader would also